


New Country. New You

by Robeerno



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-12 12:07:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2109339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robeerno/pseuds/Robeerno
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘New school. New city. New country. New you.’ </p>
<p>Delphine looks at herself in her full-length mirror. Her blonde hair resting on her shoulder, the light from her bedroom window catching the edges of her curls and cascading down, following the messy yet neat spirals of her curls. Her hands nervously pushing down bumps and ridges that most people would not notice. But she does. She wants to look perfect today. She wants to look confident and assured because she sure as hell doesn't know how to act it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I just got tired of Cosima being the one who is really nervous around Delphine and has the crush on this ‘beautiful french girl’ who is untouchable.
> 
> I see Delphine in High School as shy and introverted. I don’t think she really knows she’s as beautiful as she is. I always saw Cos as a girl who was charming and confident, so it makes sense for her to be with the popular kids.

‘New school. New city. New country. New you.’ 

Delphine looks at herself in her full-length mirror. Her blonde hair resting on her shoulder, the light from her bedroom window catching the edges of her curls and cascading down, following the messy yet neat spirals of her curls. Her hands nervously pushing down bumps and ridges that most people would not notice. But she does. She wants to look perfect today. She wants to look confident and assured because she sure as hell doesn’t know how to act it. 

The dress she has chosen is simple, plain. It is a thick, cottony, material in pastel blue that shows off her thin waist, but stops just above the knee so that the long limbs that she hates so much do not seem so long. She slips a necklace on so that the chain is hidden under the white peter-pan collar of her dress, but so the small, golden nautilus shell is visible. 

The necklace was a gift from her father when she turned 13. She remembers opening up the small, midnight blue, leather box and upon seeing the nautilus beaming back at her, looking up at her father in both appreciation and confusment. She remembers him laughing as he looked down at her. ‘Il montre la proportion dorée’ he said between light chuckles, ‘Et il s'agit d'un modèle mathématique qui se répète tout simplement dans la nature.’ He continued as Delphine looked up at him, eyes brimming with wonder and astonishment. ‘Dans pétales de fleurs et les abeilles, et les étoiles dans la galaxie, et dans chaque molécule de notre DNA’. 

It was that revelation and that gift that made Delphine pursue science. Never, before that day, had Delphine wanted to follow her parent’s career in biology. She had never thought of her future at all. She was too shy and too nervous to try anything new, so in the end, had tried nothing. But as soon as she had started to read about biology, she realised that she had found her calling. She wanted to help change the world. Although, finding her passion did nothing for her confidence or self-esteem, and the social aspects of school continued to be tough. 

Remembering her father brought tears to her eyes, which she quickly wiped away and with the shake of her head she tried to focus on the day ahead of her. ‘Stay strong Delphine, for Papa’. With those last words of self encouragement, she threw her cream backpack on and headed down the stairs, readying herself to brave San Francisco. 

 

_

 

After figuring out the map in her planner, and walking into god-knows how many people, Delphine found her home room. Most of the seats had already been filled due to her getting lost multiple times and there were only three available options. One was at the back, next to a small-ish boy with a pale face and jet black hair. He was wearing a long, dark grey coat and underneath that a vest top with a large scoop neck. Delphine found his fashion sense puzzling, as the two seemed to contrast each other largely. The look of complete boredom and disdain on his face made her mind up for her, and she glanced at the two remaining empty seats.   
The seat closest to the door was next to a chubby boy, with a blue and white plaid shirt, deep in conversation with two other boys. He had thin-rimmed glasses but the lenses were large and seemed to take up most of his face. A face, Delphine noticed, which was covered in small, but noticeable, spots and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He noticed her looked at the seat and smiled politely, a small wave accompanying it. He seemed to blush a little as Delphine lifted her hand to acknowledge him, but he then quickly turned around to continue his discussion. 

Finally, Delphine turned her attention to the last seat and in doing so felt a pang of nervousness hit her in the stomach. She could tell that the students around the final seat, which was just to the left of the center of the classroom, nearer to the windows, were the ‘popular kids’. Sitting just behind the seat was a tall, blonde, buff boy with a chiseled jaw and biceps that made his red, Ralph Lauren polo shirt seem like it was a size too small. He had perfectly white teeth and the way he leaned back in his seat, arms crossed triumphantly across his chest gave off a vibe of superiority and self-confidence.

Next to him was a small, petite girl with brown hair and sharp bangs that stopped perfectly at the bottom of her eye-brows. She was wearing a tight fitting, plain white t-shirt with a small jewel neckline. It showed off her slim figure well, whilst still holding a level of sophistication. She was sat up straight, her posture so perfect Delphine knew it must be intentionally, consciously. Like Scott, this girl must have noticed Delphine paying attention to her and looked towards the doorway to meet her gaze. The girl nodded at her flashed her a reassuring and welcoming smile. Delphine knew that the old her would have sat next to the boy with the plaid shirt, that is her comfort zone, she looked at the boy and felt safe. But she had promised herself this morning that that Delphine Cormier was gone. This was a new start and a chance to reinvent herself.   
She bit her lip, taking a second to give herself the inner confidence and went to walk forward. 

A small girl skipped out from behind her, lightly knocking her hip against the top of Delphine’s thigh. The girl spun around and dragged her eyes up Delphine’s body to meet her eyes, mouth slightly open in slight shock. ‘I am so sorry dude,’ she apologized, palms out facing Delphine. As she stepped back slightly to get a better look of the smaller girl, Delphine was mesmerized. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into neat, tight, dreadlocks, tied together in a ponytail, but at the top of her forehead she still had little tufts of soft, small baby hair. She had black, thick-rimmed glasses which sas comfortably on the bridge of her nose, and magnified her soft, comforting and beautiful brown eyes. She wore a tight, figure hugging peplum dress in a deep burgundy colour. She was obviously very confident with her body, and she had every right to be. 

‘Um, are you okay?’ The shorter girl enquired.

‘Oui,’ Delphine replied instinctively. ‘Um, yes, and it was my fault, erm, before. I was stood in the way’. She couldn’t get the words out fast enough and she motioned behind herself to the doorway to help the girl understand what she was saying. 

‘I’m Cosima,’ The girl smiled at Delphine, flashing her perfectly white teeth.  
‘Delphine’ She replied, smiling and blushing slightly. 

‘So, you dont sound local’ Cosima stated, never breaking eye contact with Delphine, whose slight blush had grown so rapidly she could swear she could see it herself. 

‘No, I moved here from France. Paris, actually. It is my first day here. I was looking for a seat that’s why I was stood in the doorway’ She pointed back to the door so that Cosima would take her eyes off of her for a second, hopefully relieving the nervousness spreading through her body. 

‘Paris, cool.’ Cosima looked behind herself at the empty seat Delphine had hoped to procure, then back to Delphine. ‘I would invite you to come and sit with me, Alison and Paul but there’s only one seat left’. She then looked towards the empty seat next to the boy with the plaid shirt. ‘You could sit by Scott though, he’s a really nice guy. Bit of a nerd’. 

Delphine could tell by the way that Cosima said it that she wasn’t being mean about Scott. She simply said it as a fact. As if he himself knew he was a nerd and didn't care. But something also told Delphine that Cosima was trying to distance herself away from that, as if to let Delphine know that she was not. 

‘Anyway, I’ll see you around, Delphine.’ With that she turned around, full of energy and life and headed towards Alison and Paul. She greeted Alison with a hug, who did not seem overly pleased by it, and she slapped Paul on the arm. 

Delphine watched her walk away before she headed over to Scott and sat down. After she introduced herself to Scott they shared a quick chat. She found out that he shared many of her classes and he offered to show her around, which she gratefully accepted but all throughout their conversation, Delphine couldn’t stop herself from catching glances at Cosima. The way Cosima threw her head back when she laughed and steadied herself by holding on to Paul’s arm made Delphine feel warm, she felt like she was sharing in on the joke and a smile started to creep its way on to her face. 

As someone who was deeply interested in science and biology, Delphine knew that sexuality was a spectrum, and that it was only society that co-defined attraction, but she had never really thought about bisexuality for herself. She recognized that she had found girls attractive, but before had merely put it down to appreciating their beauty. Yet here was this girl, this Cosima, with her tight dreadlocks and gorgeous figure, whose laugh filled Delphine with warmth whose smile made her feel safe. Delphine knew that this was more than an appreciation of beauty. She knew that there was more to what she was feeling for this girl than a budding friendship. 

 

_

 

After Scott had shown her to her first class, Delphine slipped into the room. This time, instead of worrying over what seat to choose, she simply took the first empty one she saw. It was on the right hand side of the room, three rows back and two columns across. As she took out her notebook and placed it on the table, she looked around at the classmates who were around her. 

The seat to her left, right next to the large window that overlooked the school yard, was a tall, heavy set boy. He had short brown hair, just a bit longer than a buzz-cut and dark brown eyes. Delphine noticed that he was quite smartly dressed, a light blue shirt with a tie underneath a dark blue sweater, and navy blue slacks. There was a girl with long brown hair who was leaning over his shoulder, and moving his pens around the desk every time he managed to get them in some sort of order. Delphine could tell she was not bullying the boy, and that is was friendly banter. She could see the twinkle in the girls eyes and her beaming grin and how the boy simply sighed and continued to organize his desk. 

‘This isn't funny Beth.’ The boy stated as he moved his pens back into the top right hand corner of his desk. 

‘You are so easy to wind up!’ Beth squealed, rubbing the top of the boys head with her knuckles. 

‘Dipshit’ He laughed as Beth retreated to the seat behind him. She leaned down into her seat so that her short legs could reach the back of his chair and started to push. The boy reacted quickly, catching her foot in his right hand and started pulling her towards him. 

‘No, Art, stop now’ She pleaded quickly in between laughs, ‘C’mon man, I’m gonna fall!’ He gave her leg one last tug and her hands clung to the wooden desk in front of her, but she managed to stay seated. 

Delphine smiled. She wished she could have a friendship like this. The way they joked with each other and knew exactly how to wind the other one up without going over the boundaries was something special. She could tell that they both loved each other very much, but it seemed platonic. They flirted like crazy, but there didn’t seem to be any romantic feelings there. 

‘Hey,’ The girl said, grabbing Delphine’s attention. ‘I’m Beth, this is Art,’ she continued, pointing at the boy in front of her, ‘You new?’

‘Yes, today is my first day.’ Delphine hated her accent. She really hated the way it made people ask her more questions about where she was from. Not that she minded people knowing where she was from, it is just that everyone always asks the same questions and they are always sort of impressed that she is from France. Delphine always found this odd. It was just her luck- or bad luck- that she had been born there. It did not make her special or exotic, and the way she stumbled upon certain words because of it made her nervous and that is exactly the opposite of what she wanted. 

‘You need someone to show you around?’ Beth asked, leaning forward on her desk, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. 

‘Keep it in your pants Childs.’ Art said, tipping his head back to catch Beth’s glare, who smacked him playfully on the head. 

‘Thank you, but a boy from my, um, home room, Scott Smith?’ Delphine questioned, seeing if either of them knew him. Beth seemed to nod in understanding. ‘He has already offered to show me around, but thank you, again’. 

‘Sure, no problem’ Beth smiled apologetically, and retreated back into her seat. Kicking Art’s chair again for good measure. Delphine knew that although she had already accepted Scott’s offer, she wanted to make friends. ‘But, I don’t know where to go for lunch or break.’ She states, looking back over towards Beth, whose smile widened into a broad, cocky grin, 

‘Yeah, you can come and chill with us. We’ll be in the canteen. Have you met anyone else? Other than Scott and us I mean.’ 

‘Non. There’s this girl in my home room I spoke to called Cosima,’ Delphine paused slightly after her name, remembering the way Cosima’s tongue is slightly visible when she smiles, ‘and she said something about a Paul and an Alison? But I haven’t spoken to anyone’. 

‘Oh yeah, I know Alison’ Beth gulped and she looked down at her hands, as if the name hurt her, or as if she was trying to hold something back. ‘That group, they’re all very popular,’ She adds, starting to play with her fingers, but then she looked back to Delphine, ‘Cheerleaders and Jocks’ she finishes with a shrug as if that proved a point she was trying to make. 

It was at that moment that their teacher walked in. A tall woman with a pale face and striking blue eyes. Her brown hair was long and wavy, and the sun that radiated in gave it a slightly ginger glow. She was wearing tight black trousers with leather boots, a white, button up shirt and a blue silk scarf. She lifted a bag up on to the desk and pulled out a laptop and a hard-back book. 

‘Right then,’ She said looking up to address the whole class, ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau.’


	2. Soccerbitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you may be pleased to know, that there is no way that I can do everything I have planned in 4 parts. I don't know how many there will be, but definitely more than 4. 
> 
> Tumblr: SpionKopite (General)  
>  CophineFics (FanFiction)

Scott met Delphine at the end of her English lesson. As he approached Delphine could see that he was walking very quickly, almost jogging. She couldn’t help but find him strangely adorable. It was obvious that he was trying very hard to be nice to her and although Delphine was very unsure as to why, it made her smile nonetheless. 

“Er, Hey, Delphine” He chuckled nervously, bringing his hand up in a small sort-of-wave.  
“Hello Scott,” She nods back to him. Her hands wrapped around the brown leather straps of her backpack, waiting for him to move and lead her to their lesson. “Um, Scott?” She asks, her head jerking to the side to urge him down the corridor. 

“Yeah? Oh, yeah, sure. It’s this way. Follow me. Or you can walk next to me, I’m not like, in control of you or anything.” He blushes. Lowering his head out of embarrassment before starting down the corridor. 

“What is the teacher like?” She asks, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them whilst walking.

“Leekie? He’s er, he’s a genius really. I mean, I respect the guy loads, don’t get me wrong, and some of the articles he has published are mind blowing, I still can’t believe he teaches here really but, he’s a creep” He looks over to Delphine, his eyes full of empathy, as if he is apologizing in advance for Dr.Leekie. 

“A creep? I don’t think I understand?” 

“Yeah, um, he’s a bit too friendly with the female students.” He says it awkwardly, trying not to tell Delphine too much about the rumours he has heard. She doesn’t press the issue further. She simply hums her agreement and continues to follow him up a flight of stairs, taking a mental note of all the doors and corridors to learn her way. A poster, she assumes to be from the 1990’s, hangs in this corridor. It depicts an athlete picking up another with the quote “Respect is earned. Not given”. She finds this an odd picture to have in a school, where teachers demand respect before they have even introduced themselves. 

It doesn’t take long once they get to the top of the staircase to reach their classroom. All of the science rooms are on the top floor. “So if we set the school on fire we can all get out easier” Scott explains. To which she simply nods, and follows him into the room. She doesn’t always understand Scott’s nervous humour, but she finds him endearing. She can’t help but like him. 

Scott leads her to his desk at the front, right in the centre of the room. She hated it. She could feel 20 pairs of eyes on the back of her head, even though she was sure no-one was actually looking at her. She scanned the room quickly, and saw no-one that she knew. Scott’s seat would have to do. 

Dr. Aldous Leekie was a tall man with a sharp chiseled jaw which was a sharp contrast to the slightly saggy skin of his neck. His skin was like clay, and every line and wrinkle looked as if it had been carefully placed by a potter’s hand. He was almost bald, a white peach fuzz covering the side of his head and the back of his skull. His blue eyes were dark and he walked with a swagger only seen in those with unquestionable authority. Dr Aldous Leekie not only walked like he thought he was invincible, he walked like he knew it. When he spoke, he lifted his chin to fill the room, and his voice carried a confidence which Delphine, despite her skin squirming every time he looked at her, couldn’t help but respect. The man was truly fascinating, and his passion for genetics and what he called ‘Neolution’ was evident. This man truly believed that every human has the right to direct their evolution, and Delphine agreed. 

Halfway through a passionate debate about the ethical side of genetic engineering, the thin wooden door crept open. Leekie stopped mid-sentence and turned his full body slowly to face the door. Delphine could see the look of disgust in his face. Who had dared to interrupt him whilst he was speaking? Who had that right? She found herself physically scared as all of the exuberance drained from his features to show his self-righteousness and dictator-like demand for respect. She found herself even more scared, however, when she changed her attention to the poor student who had the unfortunate pleasure of interrupting Leekie. It was her. It was Cosima. All 5’4’’ of her. The tight burgundy dress had ridden up slightly and Delphine could see the smooth skin at the top of Cosima’s thigh. She thought of running her hands across them, tracing odd freckles with the tip of her finger, before smoothing her palms up her stomach. Delphine bit her lip as she could imagine in such beautiful detail the feel of Cosima underneath her hands. It was only Leekie’s booming voice that brought her back into reality, as he listed all the reasons why Cosima needed to be on time and how if she wasn’t ‘so god damn brilliant’ and ‘his best student’ he’d have kicked her out a long time ago. 

Cosima? His best student? This morning she had put as much distance between her and academia as humanly possible, and Beth had only furthered this idea. It never once crossed Delphine’s mind that Cosima was anything more than the beautiful, sexy and adorable cheerleader she had met in home-room. There was an underside of science and intelligence. It was amazing for Delphine to see someone so rounded. She was both confident and shy. Intelligent and popular. Beautiful and sexy. Exotic but homely. The revelation of her ability in science had only furthered Delphine’s curiosity, and she hated it. She didn’t want to be captivated by a mysterious yet obvious girl on her first day. This was supposed to be a new her, but every time she looked at Cosima she could feel the knot in her stomach and her mouth go dry. As long as Cosima was in the same space as her, Delphine knew she couldn’t focus. 

Cosima simply said sorry to Leekie before heading towards Delphine’s table. ‘Oh shit. She’s coming here.’ Delphine thought to herself. Why was she coming here? There wasn’t a seat for her.  
“Oh I see how it is. You’ve traded me in for the new model” She joked, pulling up a stool at the side of Scott and Delphine’s bench. “I thought I was your girl Scotty?” It was obvious that she was joking, she was flirting with Scott to get a reaction out of him. Delphine couldn’t stop the crescendo that was her heart beat when Cosima flashed her canine-teeth in that huge grin of hers. The grin that could stop and start Delphine’s breathing in equal measure. 

“I know she’s gorgeous but man…” Cosima breaths out a sigh, the force creating a slight whistle. “...This is cold.” 

“Cosima, you’re already late and now you’re distracting us?” Scott replies, trying to make his voice serious but failing miserably. He lowers his his head and leans across the table so that no-one can hear him. “Are you high?” The thought of it shocks Delphine. There was no way that this popular, yet secretly nerdy, girl was also into drugs. 

“No.” She answers casually, batting her hand on Scott’s arm. She sounds as if the mere idea of her being high is preposterous. Scott seems to accept this and turns back to his notes. Cosima turns to face Delphine, it is only then she realises she has been staring at the poor girl since she sat down. The dread locked girl nods at her, winks and then brings her finger to her lips to try and silence her from telling Scott the truth. Delphine can’t help but laugh. It is an unashamedly sincere, but loud laugh. It catches Leekie’s attention. He glares from his space at the edge of the room, (he loves to move as he speaks. Probably to capture his whole audience), his dark eyes driving into Delphine’s and making her squirm. She looks down to avoid him, but she can feel his eyes still on her. 

“Miss Cormier,” He starts. How did he already know her name? He hadn’t asked or done taken attendance. “Perhaps you’d like to laugh at Miss Niehaus on your own time? Perhaps in detention.”

“No, sir, I am very sorry” She replies, still not looking up at him. He doesn’t reply. He just simply carries on, revelling in the sound of his own voice. 

They continued the rest of the lesson in silence. Delphine stole glances out of the corner of her eye and saw the complete boredom in Cosima’s face. Her right hand scribbling notes lazily as her left supported her chin. Every now and again, Cosima would look up at catch Delphine staring at her. She always replied with her trademark grin, and Delphine always blushed and buried herself in her notes. The bell rang and saved her from more awkward eye-contact. Before Cosima could even say anything, Delphine had gotten up, told Scott she was meeting Beth at the canteen and ran out of the room. 

_

 

“Hey, Blondie!” Beth shouted across the canteen, her arm stuck firmly in the air to catch Delphine’s attention. She was sat with Art, another girl and the pale boy from home room. The girl across from Beth started laughing at her own joke, one that Delphine had missed, and Beth was throwing a Dorito at her. The girl moved quickly and caught the Dorito in her mouth, which only caused her to laugh more. “Fuckin’ ‘ell Childs. You’re really shi’ at this ain’ ya?” Her accent was heavy, as if she’d moved from England yesterday. She and the pale boy looked Delphine up and down, not subtly either. 

“This is Delphine,” Beth starts, turning her whole body to face her and completely ignoring the girl, “She’s our English Lit class with Mrs S. She’s new Sarah, so, be nice” 

“I’m always nice you silly tit.” She looks back at Delphine. “I’m Sarah. This is my foster brother Felix.” 

“Hello” She replied, hating the way it took forever to leave her mouth. She hated being so nervous. 

“Oh. Well now I get it.” Felix smiled and shot a small smirk Beth’s way. Delphine didn’t really understand what was going on, but Sarah, Felix and Art all burst out laughing while Beth threw more Doritos at them all. Although she still felt like she was on the outside looking in, it was nice for Delphine to be around a group of people who loved each other so much. She knew that if she made friends with Beth, Art and even Felix and Sarah, that she would most likely have friends for life. They were like a big family. 

“Moving on to more important matters,” Felix started, removing a chip from his dark hair and placing it in Sarah’s mouth. “Are you all coming to our party on Friday?” 

“Fuck yeah!” Beth shouted, as if it was the most stupid question she’d ever heard.  
“Obviously” Art added.

“What about you Delphine?” Beth asked, her eyes almost begging her to say yes. It was her first day. She hardly knew these people. Sarah and Felix had already been rude to her, although she suspects that was probably as friendly and welcoming as they could possibly be. Art had hardly spoken to her, come to think of it, had Art even spoken to her at all? But then there was Beth. Beth who looked so excited at the thought of Delphine being at the party. Beth who was as funny and charming as she was beautiful. Beth who had made her feel so welcome. 

“Oui, of course. I’ll have to ask my mother but i’m sure it will be fine” 

“Awesome” Beth grinned back. 

“Uh oh. Watch your back Childs” Sarah grunted as she looked over Beth’s shoulder. The small girl from Delphine’s home room was walking over to their table. Alison. She was friends with Cosima. Cosima. ‘Oh god, please no’ she thought to herself, hoping and praying that the dread locked was not in tow. Luckily, her prayers were answered. Alison was alone. 

“What the fuck is she doing here?” Beth looked at everyone. They all shook their heads except for Felix, who pouted and lowered his head. “Really Fe? You kno-”

“Hey!” Beth was cut off by Alison. She walked around the edge of the table and sat next to Felix. Beth didn’t look at her once. “So, what’s everyone talking about?”. The enthusiasm in her voice was real, and Delphine couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the girl. It was obvious that she wanted this group to like her, or that they had all been friends once, but the pain in Beth’s eyes showed a hurt that seemed unfixable. Instinctively, Delphine reached out a hand and placed it on Beth’s arm, attempting to comfort her in some way. The smaller girl turned to face her and shot her an appreciative smile, before looking down at the table again. No-one had answered Alison. Felix looked tentatively at Beth before sighing. 

“I’m having a party on Saturday, I want you to be there Ali.” It was the sincerest Delphine believed Felix could possibly sound. Alison looked to Beth and replied so softly Delphine almost missed it. “Felix, I don’t think that would be wise.”

“Well neither is coming and sitting here with us like everything’s fine. If you want to go to the party, go to the fucking party.” Beth was yelling. It was so sudden it knocked all of the thought out of Delphine’s head. “Don’t feel like you have to do me any favours.” She threw her bag over her shoulder and left the table, her feet banging heavily on the wooden floor. Before she’d even got a few feet away Art was on his feet chasing her, slinging his arm over her shoulder and walking next to her. Delphine looked to Sarah, hoping she’d give her the encouragement to stay or go after her. Sarah raised her palm and shook her head. Delphine nodded in agreement. 

Alison’s face was unreadable. It was difficult to tell if she was upset, shocked, or accepting of what had just happened. She too got up, and breathed out once before excusing herself, Felix in tow. It was now just Sarah and Delphine at the table. “Um, do I want to know?” Delphine asked, taking charge of the situation. 

“I’s not really my place, bu’ I will warn ya, it’s not pre’y. Soccerbitch fucked this righ’ up.” 

The bell rang for the end of break time. The bell had saved Delphine a lot today. 

_

 

Delphine was walking home from her long day. She’d made new friends. Beth, Sarah, Art, Felix and Scott. She was very proud of herself that she’d put herself out there when it would have been so easy for her to follow Scott around all day like a lost puppy. The group was very tight-knit, a family. Art the father figure, Beth and Sarah the unruly ‘siblings’ and Felix their dramatic, sassy brother. Delphine wondered if Alison had been a mother figure, a fellow sibling, or if she had ever really been in the group at all. Was she simply a friend of Felix’s who had gotten to close to Beth? Whatever had happened between them, Delphine knew that she didn’t like to see Beth upset. A girl who had shown Delphine nothing but kindness, smiles, occasional flirting and warmth, did not deserve to feel the sadness that she had worn so obviously at the table today. 

And then there was Cosima. Cosima who had completely turned Delphine on her head. She thought she was ready. She thought she was confident enough in who she was to start afresh here in America, but Cosima had other ideas. The curve of her ass as she walked through to the glint in her eyes when she smiled and even the way she dared to get high and come to an AP Biology lesson. This girl was a revelation. She was all fire and excitement, mystery and danger. She was the type of girl you could run away with in the middle of the night, but also the type of girl you could share a house with. ‘What?’ Delphine thought to herself. She had known this girl for approximately 7 hours and was already picturing a life with her. This was bad. 

“Delphine!” A familiar voice called out. The voice with the slight gravely undertone that reverberated through Delphine’s skull. This was the last thing she needed right now. To be alone with Cosima. “Wait there a second!” She stopped and waited for the small girl to catch up with her. Delphine looked down as Cosima slinked up next to her. Was she aware that this was not a catwalk? The unwavering confidence that she projected with every step coupled with her beautiful smile and slightly tilted head was enough to make Delphine fall to the floor right there. Whatever Cosima wanted from her, Delphine knew she was going to get it. 

“You erm,” She reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. “You left this back at Leekie’s lab before you ran away.” 

“Thank you,” Delphine nodded in response, unsure whether or not to carry on this conversation. She was equally fascinated and scared. “I did not mean to be rude before. I just promised a friend I would meet her”

“Yeah, Beth. Beth Childs?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. She used to date a friend of mine.” They were both silent for a second. Could Cosima mean Alison? Although Beth hadn’t actually told Delphine she was gay but the way Art and Sarah spoke to her, along with the harmless flirting she had been involved in, told her this was the case. It was the possibility of her being with Alison that shocked her. Someone so precise, and hard-faced and, dare she say it, popular? “Are you going to walk home or just stare into space thinking?” 

“Hmm?” Delphine had obviously been mulling over the thought of Beth and Alison for a while for Cosima to notice it. “Oh yes, of course. Are you walking this way too?” She started to walk down the road again.

“Yeah, I live on Duncan Av. It’s just up there.” Delphine knew. It was only a few minutes from her own street and she had to walk through it to get to their road. As they walked an uncomfortable silence fell over them. Cosima stopped and rummaged in her bag. She didn’t know why but Delphine stopped too, it wasn’t as if they had agreed to walk together. Cosima pulled out a small black tin with a rainbow coloured double helix along the centre. From the tin she procured a rolled-up cigarette. 

“Do you mind?” She asked, although she had already placed the paper between her lips. Delphine laughed softly, before pulling a packet of cigarettes from the side pocket of her backpack. 

“Not if you give me a light.” She smiled.

“I didn’t take you for a rebel, Miss Cormier.” Cosima said her name in Leekie’s voice, and Delphine could feel the goosebumps on her skin. She took the lighter from Cosima’s hands and tried desperately not to touch her as she did so. She didn’t want to know what her hands felt like. 

“Never say that again. And you can smoke at 18 in France.” 

“Yes but, two things, it is September, which means if you are 18, you have only just turned 18 to be in High School and in case you’ve forgotten, this is America.” 

“In case you have forgotten, you are smoking weed.” Delphine retaliates playfully, poking Cosima’s arm as they walk. Cigarettes always have this calming affect on her. 

“It’s totally medical. Obviously.” She poked Delphine back. Her finger running down the arm as she pulled away. “This is my stop. See you around.” As she walked up the driveway of her suburban mansion, she waved to Delphine, her fingers flitting. 

Was she flirting back or was this something she always did? Cosima was a cheerleader. It was in her nature to be pleasant and friendly. Delphine smiled and waved back, making a strong conscious effort to hide her blush and her grin, but from the way Cosima laughed as she entered her house made her think she’s failed miserably. But she couldn’t care less.


	3. Chapter 3

The week went by quickly. Delphine had spent the week going to lessons with Scott and spending her free time with Beth’s group. It was almost becoming a routine. What she hated the most about her new routine was Cosima’s place in it. Everyday they seemed to leave at the same time, taking the same route home. Delphine couldn’t believe her luck, or lack of it perhaps, that she was spending 10 minutes with Cosima everyday, uninterrupted. They joked about Leekie and his obvious messiah complex, and about Scott’s harmless schoolboy crush on both of them. 

 

“God, could you imagine if we ever kissed in front of him?” Cosima joked as she took a slow drag of her joint. Delphine paused, her brain trying to work out what Cosima was saying. Was it a joke just to lighten the mood? Was she trying to subtly see if Delphine was interested? Was she saying that there would be kisses that Scott could see? 

 

“Why would we do that?” She was pretty sure she was blushing, and she was pretty sure she’d stared right at Cosima whilst her mind went on it’s little journey. 

 

“It was a joke. I know you’re not gay, chill. See you tonight.” With that Cosima was gone, running up the driveway of her house and not turning back. 

 

She knows you’re not gay? Is she blind? You practically melt whenever you see her, how hasn’t she noticed? It was incredible. All this time Delphine had felt like her crush was so obvious even Scott could see it. Then it hit her. Cosima had told her she knew that Delphine wasn’t gay, but she had never said that she wasn’t. In Cosima’s mind, it was only Delphine’s heterosexuality that kept the joke from being serious. 

 

Delphine smiled as she walked to her own front door. Tonight was going to be fun.

 

_

 

It reminded her of her first day at her new school. She was stood in front of her mirror again, pushing down her dress and trying to breath out her nervousness. The cockiness that she seemed to gain whenever she was around the dreadlocked girl had dissipated and though she was looking forward to seeing her, and Beth and everyone she couldn’t help but feel she was going to ruin it. Don’t be so stupid. There isn’t even anything to ruin! This was merely a friendship between her and Cosima. Even if Delphine had picked up on the girls signals, and Cosima had infact told Delphine she wasn’t ‘straight’, she was certain that she wouldn’t be interested in her anyway. Why would she be? What did Delphine have to offer her that she didn’t already have? Being with Delphine wouldn’t make her cooler, or more popular, or more attractive, or more interesting. No. Stop. You are worth it, Delphine. You are not less than anyone else. Sometimes she had to remind herself that she deserved the very best. 

 

A car horn beeped from outside and her phone buzzed. Beth. “Outside, ready when you are x”, “Be right out, x” She grabbed her black clutch and looked herself over in the mirror one last time. She’d chosen wisely. The scoop-neck dress showed off the collar-bones that she was so proud of and the hem hung loosely just above her knees. The waist was tight, and flaunted her figure. She smiled to herself in the mirror because for once, just once, she was very happy with how she looked. The horn beeped again and she took it as her cue to leave, and hurried down the stairs. 

 

“Fuckin’ ‘ell Frenchie! You took ya time!” 

 

Sarah’s obnoxious laughter filled the air as she leaned out of the front window of the pick-up truck. A hand shot from the back of the car and pushed Sarah in the side of the face. Only two people in the world would dare hit Sarah Manning, and Felix would be setting up at home. Come to think of it, why wasn’t Sarah at her house? “Jesus, Childs. She’s not your fucking girlf-” The hand was back. “Ow, Okay.” Sarah slumped into the seat and ran her hand through her long, brown hair. Delphine made her way over to the truck and slipped into the backseat. She was on the edge with Beth in the middle and Felix on the far side. 

“So this is Cal” Beth pointed to the drivers seat. There sat a slightly older looking boy, or should she say man, with thick brown hair and an impressively well-kept beard. He smiled at her and nodded. “Sarah’s….” Beth trailed off. “Friend.” Delphine nodded knowingly. “You look really nice, by the way.” Beth smiled as she complimented the blonde girl. 

 

“Merci, Beth, you too” She didn’t want it to sound as fake as it did, but her awkward nature had taken over. Especially when she looked up and saw the, as Beth called it, shit-eating grin on Sarah’s face. The brunette girl said nothing, but she winked at Beth before shooting a death-glare towards Delphine. Sarah was warning her. She was letting her know that if Delphine let this get too far and hurt Beth then Sarah was gunning for her, and if there is one person you don’t want to piss off, it is Sarah Manning. Now she knew why Sarah had come. It was to warn her before they all got too drunk to remember their own names. Delphine turned to face out of the window, avoiding Sarah’s glare. “Lets get to the party then shall we?” Cal asked, breaking the awkward silence. 

 

_

 

They walked into the party, Beth and Cal lugging kegs from the back of his truck along the short path from the gate to the door. Delphine had offered to help but she was secretly glad they’d turned her down, she would have been no use to them anyway. The party was just starting, and there were already maybe 50 people there. Discreetly, Delphine scanned the rooms hoping to see a small, brunette girl with the stars in her eyes. “Fancy a drink?” Beth shouted from across the room, the keg had been set up, finally. “Oui, thank you!” She called back, still scanning the kitchen. She felt a presence next to her. It was familiar and warm. A strong hand touched her shoulder as the other forced a drink into her hand. “You looking for Felix?” It was Beth. Delphine lied, “Yes. I want to umm...thank him for setting all this up” It was a terrible one. Beth eyed her quizzically. “Very formal…” Delphine hoped that Beth had missed the way she avoided her eyes, an obvious sign that she was lying, but she also knew that Beth missed nothing. Beth could be a great detective one day, she was so observant and understanding. “But if that’s how they do it in France, lets go find him”. The brunette girl was ignoring it and although Delphine didn’t know why, she was grateful. Beth squeezed her shoulder and lead her out of the room. 

 

Several hours later and Delphine still hadn’t seen Cosima. She glanced at the clock hanging proudly above the fireplace. 12:00am. She hadn’t been told a specific time to get home, but she didn’t want to push her luck. The music was blasting through the living room, all heavy basslines punctuated by high-pitched beeps and auto-tuned rapping. It wasn’t bad music, it was the kind you played at parties, and Delphine normally found it easy to sing a long and get lost in the moment, but she was still on the look-out for Cosima. That’s when Beth slid in front of her. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all night!” She shouted. It was true. After the look Sarah gave her in the car, and the way Beth’s hands lingered on Delphine’s shoulder had worried her. Beth was beautiful. There were no two ways about it. She was stunning. Her brunette hair was thick and long and her well-maintained body was definitely something to be admired. Delphine couldn’t deny that she was attractive, but Delphine was not attracted to her. There was only room for one small brunette in Delphine’s heart, mind and, although she hated to think it, bed, and that was Cosima. “I know, I am sorry.” She meant it. “Isn’t that Alison?” Delphine pointed out of the living room towards the stairs. There she saw Alison walking up the stairs, arm in arm with Chad Norris, Captain of the Hockey Team. Beth turned back round to Delphine and shrugged. “So what?” She sniffed and Delphine was sure she could see slight tears forming in her eyes. 

 

“Okay, let’s get you away from here.” She suggested, leading Beth away from the room and towards the downstairs bathroom. Beth nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into the small room. She sat on the toilet seat as Delphine knelt in front of her. “I didn’t want to task, because it is not my place, but, where you and Alison a...item?” Beth’s head dropped into her hands. She nodded, trying to disguise the way her shoulders moved up and down with suppressed sobs. Delphine reached out and rubbed her back in circles. They stayed like this for a while. Neither speaking until...“I am sorry.”

 

“Aren’t you going to task what happened? God knows, everyone else wants to know.” Beth’s words came out sharply, tinged with venom and sarcasm. 

 

“Non, it is none of my business.” 

 

Beth removed her head from her hands to look Delphine in the eyes. “You’re something else, you know?” She wasn’t sure if it was sarcastic, or rude, or if Beth was really shocked by Delphine being a nice human being, but she smiled anyway. “Are you okay? Should we leave?” 

 

The brunette wiped her eyes and breathed out, still unsure if she was in the right state to leave the small room. Delphine hated to see her only true friend at this school so heartbroken. “Shall we go and dance?” Beth let out a quick laugh. “Sure. Why the fuck not?”

 

They left the bathroom hand in hand, no-one paying them much attention. Beth was still trying to fight back tears as they walked back through the house, and even still when Delphine grabbed her other hand and forced her to dance. Luckily, some novelty cheesy-pop song was playing and Beth couldn’t help but smile at the stupidly catchy lyrics. Delphine had her back to the living room door, so could not see what had made Beth’s smile disappear, but the next thing she knew Beth’s lips were on hers. The beautiful brunette threw her arms over the tall girl’s shoulders and her hands worked their way into Delphine’s messy, golden curls. Although it was slight, and although it went against everything she had wanted to do, Delphine kissed her back. Stop, you idiot! She’s just had her heart-broken and you’re going to lead her on?! Her conscience begged her to stop, and her heart yearned for this to be Cosima, but there was an animalistic side to her that she could not ignore, not now. It was Beth who pulled away, and shot a glance over Delphine’s shoulder. The blonde girl’s eyes opened slowly, and Beth’s lips had curled into a smug grin as Delphine heard a gasp followed by a smash. She spun around and took in the sight. Alison Hendrix, in a well-fitting dress and matching heels, was stood in a pile of broken glass and wine, her cheeks slightly red and mouth agape. She brought a firm hand up to her forehead and breathed slowly, before strutting away down the hall. 

 

“Oh.” Although she only liked Beth platonically, and that kiss had stemmed from alcohol and sadness, the realisation that she had been used to make someone jealous stung her. “Is that what that was?” 

 

“Delphine, listen, I-” 

 

“No. It’s fine.” It wasn’t. “Forget it. I’m fine.” She wasn’t. No. She wasn’t fine, but compared to the ache in her chest when she turned back towards the stairs, this was nothing. 

 

“You’re with Beth?” Cosima’s voice was almost a whisper, and high-pitched as if she had to force it through her lips. She opened her lips to explain, but before she could formulate the words necessary Cosima had raised a hand. “Hey, you don’t need to explain yourself to me.” She laughed nervously, “Beth’s great. Kiss who you want.” The small girl smiled and walked towards the bathroom, shouting for Alison as she did. 

 

“I don’t need to be a detective to see your lady boner for Cosima fucking Niehaus.” Beth laughed from the living room. Delphine shot her a warning glance, but she didn’t have it in her to be mad at Beth. It was true. Her crush was obvious. But not to the one person she needed it to. 

 

“What am I going to do?” 

 

“I have no idea.” Beth wrapped her arm around Delphine’s shoulders. “But I can tell you this…” Beth took a long sip of her drunk, obviously enjoying the anticipation. “Niehaus was totally jealous.” 

 

“She was, and if I know popular girls, and trust me, I do…” The suspense was back. “They always want what they can’t have.” 

 

Delphine looked down at her friend, confused. “And what does that mean?”

 

“That means, mon petit chiot,” She tried not to cringe at Beth’s appalling accent. “We make you what she can’t have. We make you mine.” She knew it helped both of their causes, Beth wanted Alison and Delphine wanted Cosima, but was it really wise to get caught up in some stupid plan to make her jealous? It was probably just best for Delphine to explain calmly what had happened and work it out, even if it did mean telling Cosima that she had feelings for her. What if Beth was wrong? What if Cosima wasn’t jealous and was just angry? Would this make her more angry? Beth seemed to sense the inner turmoil and squeezed her arm. “Trust me. I’ve done this before.” She smiled at the memory. “You’ll have her in no time.”


	4. Chapter 4

She had only agreed to the stupid plan in the hopes that it would end with her and Cosima together, or at least make her a bit jealous, but so far that week, nothing had changed. Cosima wasn’t angry, or bitter, neither did she make smart jokes about Beth like her girlfriend had warned her she would. Delphine didn’t know what hurt her more, that she was lying to the one person that she wanted to share everything with or that Cosima simply didn’t care.

“It’s been a week since the party Beth, and she hasn’t even mentioned it.” Delphine sighed as she flopped down on her seat at the dinner table. Beth wrapped her arm around Delphine’s shoulders, half to keep up appearances and half to comfort her. She understood. Alison was easy to wind up, even if she thought she was brilliant at hiding it, but she saw the way that Cosima had closed off her emotions. She gave nothing away, and even Beth, the future detective, couldn’t tell if that was out of hurt, anger or simple apathy. As she comforted her, Cosima walked through the main doors. Beth nudged Delphine under the table. Showtime. The blonde girl lifted her head up, and tried her best to smile at Beth lovingly. Beth laughed and smacked Delphine on the arm, as if she’d said something hilarious and kissed her. It was involuntary, but because her brain knew Cosima was watching she stiffened up. Beth sensed this and kicked her under the table, Delphine brought her hand up to Beth’s face in an attempt to seem loving, or passionate or at least a bit happy.

“She’s gone now, you tits.” Sarah joked as she and Felix sat down heavily. They broke their kiss and Beth looked around nonchalantly. It was always her who had to gauge the reactions as Delphine couldn’t act casual to save her life. Felix sighed and flipped his head so that his immaculate black hair emphasised his dramatics. Delphine could never work the boy out. He was always so dramatic and sarcastic that she didn’t even know if he knew whether he was being serious or not. She knew that sometimes, high school could be a tough place for a gay boy and that he used his humour as a defence mechanism, he could just never seem to switch it off anymore. He eyed her suspiciously, pouting, then moved his eyes down to watch himself as he pulled his lunch out of his bag. She had obviously been staring. “Your problem, Frenchie, is that you’re 100%” He hadn’t looked back at her as he spoke.

“I dont,” She gulped. “I don’t think I understand”.

He laughed. “This is exactly what I mean! You are confused, and you are a little intimidated by me.” He was right, he knew exactly what Delphine was thinking. “That’s because, everything you do, you do 100%. You’re not confident, no, that is something completely different. But you feel it, and your face shows it.”

Was it true? Were her emotions so obvious that everyone knew what she was feeling at any given time? She looked down at her hands and bit her lip as she contemplated what Felix had just told her. “Do you think, Felix, that that is why Cosima is not jealous? Do you think that she knows?”

He pondered this for a second. “Let’s put it this way, she’s not NOT acting jealous because she doesn’t find you attractive. She’s got the hots for you hard.” She smiled at the thought. If Felix could read her so well, regardless of her complete lack of acting ability, then maybe he could read Cosima too. Or maybe she just wanted to believe him.

“Do you think you could teach me?” She asked quietly, her teeth still clutching at her bottom lip. He narrowed his eyes and Delphine swore she could physically see the cogs turning in his head. He raised an eyebrow slightly and ran his eyes up and down the length of her. “I’m sure I could work something out.”

A beaming smile came across her face, at the same time Beth wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Instinctively, Delphine’s smile wavered, but the piercing stare from the dark-haired boy brought it back. He winked, and mouthed “Good start.”

_

“NO, NO NO!” Felix shouts as he brings his hand up to his forehead. She’d not sure if he is really angry, or this is just a display of his fabulous dramatics, but she listens anyway. “You like Beth right?”

“Yes, Beth is my closest friend.”

“Then why is it so hard for you to pretend to like her?” He asked. “I mean, it’s not hard to do something…that you’re already doing.” He was surprisingly flustered.

“Leave her, Fe.” Beth started. “It’s not easy to pretend to be ‘in love’ with someone.”

The dark-haired boy was having none of it though, but as he started to continue his rant, a smug smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He folded his arms slowly, revelling in the attention.

“I don’t like that face.” Beth was wary, her head slightly tilted and brow furrowed. Delphine studied the pair of them. Felix was nodding and grinning like the Chesire cat, whilst Beth looked as if she were preparing herself to run. It was an intense moment, like in those old western movies where the three men in the shootout look at eachother, but no-one speaks. Everytime Delphine went to speak, Beth put up a hand to shush her, as if she needed perfect silence to work out what it was that Felix had in mind.  
Beth’s face changed to a smirk. “You little genius!” She ran over and grabbed his face in her hands and kissed his forehead.

“Calm down, you. It took me ages to cover up this spot and I won’t have your lesbian lips messing it up.” She backed away, her hands raised in defeat and turned to Delphine. She grabbed the french girls hands and pulled her close. Beth rested her hands on Delphine’s shoulders and Delphine put hers round her waist.  
“You’re getting it!” She teased. “But now, this may be weird, pretend I’m Cosima.”

WHAT? “You want me to kiss you…whilst I think of someone else?”

“Yes. Just roll with it.” Beth nodded and moved her hands to cup Delphine’s face and gently pulled her down. It’s not Beth, it’s Cosima.

As Beth’s slightly chapped lips met hers, she thought if Cosima’s would be that rough. No. Cosima’s would be smooth, ones that you could sink into, like when you come home and fall onto the sofa. As her brain changed Beth’s lips into Cosima’s, her imagination set to work on Beth’s body. The hands that were wrapped around the girls waist were about the right height to be Cosima, but she needed her closer. She gripped Cosima’s hips and pulled her in, desperately wanting to feel the brunette girl against her. Then her hands ran up the other girls sides and into her hair. She felt rough dreadlocks beneath her fingers and gripped onto one, as if they were the anchors keeping her mind from running through all the scenarios that would follow this kiss. As Cosima started to pull away, Delphine moved to knock their noses together delicately, wanting to feel the thin ring that she found equally sexy and adorable, but found none. Her imagination had run out, and instead of seeing her Cosima stood in front of her, she saw a very flustered looking Beth. The brunette girl kept going to speak, then looking up to the sky for inspiration. Delphine had never seen her lost for words, other than when she was too upset to get them out. She hoped that the fact that Delphine had to think of someone else had not upset her.

“Beth, is e-” The hand came up again, punctuated by a light, carefully thought out chuckle from Felix.

“Well, that was better than I’d hoped it would be.” Felix picked up his long trench coat. “It appears my work here is done. Toodle-oo.” He left, flicking his coat behind his as he walked.

Beth waved over her shoulder as she still searched for words.  
“That was…” She started. “Incredible.” Delphine had not been expecting that. “Cosima is a lucky girl, you really like her don’t you?”

Delphine nodded.

“No-one’s ever kissed me like that before, well except…” She finished her own train of thought. “What we need to do, is do this at a game. Whilst their doing their cheers, Ali always told me that they look into the crowd, so we need to find a seat in the middle of the bleachers. Okay?”

“Are you sure Cosima will see? Will she know it’s for her?”

“She’ll definitely see, but if there’s one thing I know about Cosima it’s that she’s almost as clueless as you are, but not quite.” She laughed. “It’ll work. It has to. You need to be with her Delphine, and I’m going to do everything to make that possible.”

_

Beth walked Delphine to her Biology lesson, knowing that Cosima would be there and that they’d also have to pass Alison’s Home Economics class too. When they got to the door, Cosima was already at their desk, but she was sat in Scott's seat. The thought of being sat right next to Cosima for the whole lesson, close enough to brush against her without it being odd, made her heart flutter. Beth pushed Delphine into the door frame lightly to get the room’s attention, but by the time they turned around the pair were already kissing. By the time Beth released her lips, Cosima had turned back, or had she even looked? Delphine waved to Beth as she walked down the corridor, and blew her a kiss to keep up the charade. Beth caught it and put it in her pocket. The one thing that Delphine didn’t have to act was how much Beth made her smile.

As the blonde girl made her way to her desk, she made eye-contact with Dr.Leekie. He had a creepy smile on his face and his eyes were dark. Delphine could have sworn he looked her up and down, but she was soon at the desk and he had turned back to his board. The look in his eyes made her skin crawl, and she was certain other people had noticed because there was a strange atmosphere in the room. Cosima was gripping her pencil tightly, and was muttering something under her breath. From what Delphine could catch she heard ‘perv…slimy…show him’.

“Cosima?” Delphine whispered.  
“Hm, yeah?” She replied, not looking up from her notebook.

“When is the next football game?”

Cosima looked up and stared into Delphine’s eyes, searching for the plan. Delphine had told Cosima on one of their walks home that she didn’t really like football. Cosima smiled playfully.

“I thought you didn’t like sports?” 

How had such a simple question caught her out and brought a lump to her throat. Or was it Cosima’s smile? Felix was right, she was too obvious.

“It’s umm, Beth wanted to go to it.”

The smile fell from Cosima’s face. “I can’t remember, I’ll task Alison after class.”

“Okay.” Delphine replied, defeated. Cosima didn’t want to tell her when the game was on, but why? “Do you think I could get your phone number then?” A sudden burst of confidence had shot through her, Cosima tended to do that to her. She made her equally nervous and at ease.   
The brunette girl seemed to mentally weigh up the pro’s and cons of giving Delphine her number, but gave in and took Delphine’s phone. Next to her name she put two emojis, a microscope and a monkey covering its eyes. To Delphine’s confused smile, she offered “Because I’m the geek monkey.”

Dr.Leekie interrupted their moment. His booming voice tinged with something different this time. A smoothness, a calmness, it would sound charming from anyone else, but his reptilian features and hungry eyes removed any chance of that happening. Delphine caught his eyes and was overcome with disgust. She moved her chair further under the table to that her legs were hidden, and lowered her head to stare at her page. She stayed that way until the end of the lesson. Cosima tried to speak to her, but soon registered what was going on, and left it.

As she got up to leave the room to meet Beth, Dr. Leekie called her. “Delphine, can I just see you for a moment please?” She gulped. But she couldn’t refuse, not when he held her future in his hands. He could fail her, and ruin her chances of going to a good university. He leaned against his desk and folded his arms, waiting for the rest of the students for leave. Cosima lingered around for a few seconds longer than she should have, pretending to search for something. “Did you need anything Miss Niehaus?”

“No sir. Just looking for my god-damn pen.” She shot him a sarcastic smile, as if this game happened between them a lot.

“Well, considering im in a…giving mood.” The smile fell from her lips. “You can have one of my pens. Now run along, I wouldn’t want you to miss your break.” She snatched the pen from his hand and walked out of the door, leaving it slightly ajar. They were alone. Dr. Leekie uncrossed his arms and gripped the edge of his desk. Delphine stood in front of him, holding her backpack in her hands as to cover her legs as best as she could. “Could you just shut the door for me Delphine?” She knew she had to walk to the door, and there was no way of her covering her legs without it being obvious that she knew what was going on, and she was scared to reject him outright. The short distance to the door felt like a mile as he ran his eyes up from the start of her high-tops to the hem of her skirt. She turned around as quickly as possible.

“Miss Cormier, I’ve noticed that you have an aptitude for science.” He smiled. “It’s very impressive. I’d say you were almost on the same level as Miss Niehaus.”

“Thank you.” She replied shakily.

“Of course,” He reached out to her as she returned to where she was standing and ran the back of his fingers down her arm. “There are always ways that you could, get your marks up to match hers.” His voice was innocent, and the words did not mean anything, but his eyes were heavy and bore into hers.

“I…” She couldn’t speak.

His hand ran across the back of her arms and to her back. No matter how hard she wished, and tried, she could not pretend like this was someone else touching her. From there it slid down, slowly, tortuously to the curve of her ass. He rested it there for a few seconds before giving it a light squeeze. It made her jump forward; towards him. His other hand went up as if he was attempting to steady her, but it fell on her breasts. She pulled back, steadying herself and his hand dropped, but the one on her ass moved lower and lower, until he played with the bottom of her skirt.

There was a loud knock at the door. Dr.Leeki sighed and pushed Delphine away. “Yes?”.

Beth walked back in. “Hey babe,” Beth begun. “Are you ready to go?” Delphine nodded enthusiastically and grabbed Beth’s hands. Dr.Leekie smiled to himself. Beth may have saved her this time, but she was sure that this wasn’t the end of it. She hoped that as she took Beth’s face in her hands, and kissed her softly, that Leekie got the message. She wasn’t interested, and she was taken. Beth broke the kiss and pulled her towards the door. When they were safely out of the room, Delphine hugged Beth. “Thank you so much!” She kissed the side of her face. “But how did you know?”

“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t save you from creepy fuckwads like Leekie?” She laughed. “No, but seriously? Niehaus came to get me.”

“What?”

“Yeah. She was out of breath too. I’m guessing she ran.”

Cosima. Cosima had ran down to the canteen to get Beth, to tell Beth what was happening, to save Delphine from that creep. She cared. She didn’t want Leekie to have his way with her. When so many people left the room, knowing full well what was going to happen, Cosima stayed and Cosima faught. It was this simple idea, and the imagination that Beth’s hands were Cosima’s, that removed every trace of him from her body.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where that little M in the corner finally becomes appropriate.

A week had passed since that Biology lesson and the two girls had grown closer and closer.  
Delphine had learnt that Cosima’s parents were both Marine Biologists, which is what had sparked her interest in the subject. The brunette was more into the evolutionary side of the field, but she always loved her parents for getting her involved in it. Cosima was also heavily into the comradery of cheer-leading, as well as being thrown around by pretty girls. Delphine could listen to her talk for hours about how cheer-leading, although at face-value was superficial and was arguably for ‘the male gaze’ was actually an extreme showing of female solidarity and that it promoted body confidence as well as being ‘hella fun’. Cosima threw her hands around as she went into the intricacies of her routine on the way home from school, almost as if her hands were the members of her squad and she were putting on a mini performance.

Delphine cherished the time that she spent with Cosima, because ever since that day she hadn’t been going to the canteen at break or at dinner. It was odd, considering just yesterday Cosima had spoken at length about her love for the mini pizza’s their school sold. She didn’t task. If there was something wrong, then Cosima would tell her herself, it wasn’t her place to pry. In the back of her mind, however, she worried that Cosima could be ‘otherwise’ engaged. Recently, Delphine had started to notice how close Cosima and Paul were becoming. It was impossible to ignore really. The normally late Cosima was always there when Delphine walked into the room with her back to the door, her fully body facing the Jock. She laughed louder around him, but it wasn’t forced, well at least it didn’t appear to be forced. Cosima never once looked around either, her attention stayed with the blond boy.

Delphine couldn’t deny that she found him attractive, who wouldn’t? He could be a Calvin Klein model. His arms bulged out of his shirt and his jaw line was so pronounced and perfect it was almost as if he’d been sculpted out of marble. She just didn’t think he was worthy of Cosima. She deserved so much more. He wasn’t clever. He wouldn’t challenge her intellectually and she didn’t imagine they had many mutual interests other than football. Maybe that was the point. The thought made her shudder. Their relationship had to be purely physical. She imagined him running his hands over her stomach and across her chest. She imagined him on top on her, looking down with those dark, narrow eyes and her reciprocating the look. She imagined Cosima arching her back as he kissed her neck and bit her gently. “NO!” she shouted out.  
Cosima looked at her puzzled. “Okay, relax Del. I only asked if you were coming to the game tonight but whatever.”

“What? No! I am Cosima, I am.” She was blushing so hard from her embarrassment, and her anger at what she was imagining that she was almost entirely pink. “I will see you tonight then, oui?”

“Er, yeah. I mean, we’re pretty much busy all night but if I spot ya i’ll wave” Cosima smiled and leaned up. A thousands scenarios raced through Delphine’s mind, but her mind went numb when Cosima’s lips fell onto her cheek. “That’s the French way right??” She joked, and shot an all-too-subtle wink. Just like the first time they had parted by Cosima’s house, she turned around and waved. Delphine was stood motionless, probably gormless too, but managed to return the gesture.

_

She was annoying herself, but she couldn’t stop talking about Paul or asking about him. “Do you think they are together though?”

“I don’t know Delphine.” Beth huffed. She had already answered enough questions about Paul Dierden to write a biography.

“What does she see in him? I mean, aside from the physical side?”

“Maybe she’s only with him for the physical side. I mean, I’m hella gay and even I had a thing for him.” She shut her eyes at her own stupidity. This was not going to make Delphine calm down…or shut up. Before the blonde girl could say another word Beth blurted, “If you want to know about why people stay with Paul, you wanna’ talk to Sarah babe.” It made Delphine smile how Beth had taken to calling her pet names even when no-one else was around. “She’s had her fair share of Paul.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

Beth pulled into the lot and parked as close as she could. They had tried to get there early to nab the best seats, right in front of the cheerleaders, but they must have gotten the times wrong because it was packed full of people. Luckily, they managed to squeeze into a small space, third row back, right in the middle. The people they had moved out of the way had moaned passive aggressively but the death stare Beth had obviously learned from Sarah helped to work that out. From where they were sat, she was sure Cosima and Alison could see them. The only thing she wasn’t sure about was whether or not this would make Cosima jealous or not, especially now that she had Paul.

She and Beth chatted for a while until the announcer’s microphone screeched and a deep voice boomed out welcomes and enthusiastic cheers. Not long after the footballers ran out to thunderous applause and an electronic dance anthem. It was supposed to make the crowd pumped for the game, but all it did was remind Delphine of Felix’s party. It was similar to the song that Beth and her had danced to, before Beth kissed her to annoy Alison and started this whole game. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn’t find it in herself to be angry at Beth for kissing her. Sure, it would have been easier if she hadn’t, and she might have tried something with Cosima that night, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised just how much she’d enjoyed their kiss.

-  
It was halftime and the Sheldon High Sharks were down by three points. Beth had gone to get them some snacks. In response to Delphine’s protests that she was going to miss the cheerleading Beth winked and said softly “Don’t worry, mon amour” Her poor French accent now making her smile rather than cringe. Beth still wasn’t back when the cheerleading squad ran out. Delphine could spot Cosima a mile away. Her dreads were pulled back into a bun, with a red ribbon wrapped around it to fit in with the teams colours and her uniform. Delphine had fantasised about Cosima in her burgundy dress, but Cosima in her cheerleading outfit was one of the wonders of the world. The white-trimmed, slight v-neck on the tight, red shirt allowed Delphine’s eyes to trace the sharp collarbones at the base of Cosima’s neck. She thanked the gods that it was sleeveless as she wandered up down lazily and hungrily. It was almost as if she were going to take a test on Cosima’s anatomy later with the way her brain took in the information but all the while seeking more. The skirt flicked out in dirndl style but not as long. It barely covered her ass so it was a good thing they came with built in shorts. Cosima spotted Delphine almost instantly, and jumped up in the air, waving excitedly. Delphine tried her best to keep her cool, but couldn’t. She waved back just as enthusiastically and shot a thumbs up.

Right on cue, Beth sat down beside her and wrapped her arm around her. She pulled her close and planted a long, passionate kiss on Delphine’s lips. She hadn’t prepared herself for this. She’d never had to imagine kissing Cosima whilst Cosima was a few yards away from her. Beth bit her lip gently, half in encouragement and half in punishment for not putting on a good show. Delphine raised her hands to caress Beth’s face, and found herself tracing the light freckles on her nose with her thumb. She’d not even realised what was happening, or what she was doing when she pushed her tongue against Beth’s lips. If Beth was surprised, she didn’t let on, she simply opened her lips and invited Delphine in. If it wasn’t for the announcer booming across the sound system once more, they’d have stayed like that for hours.

As she pulled away, Delphine caught the glossy look in Beth’s eyes and she wondered if hers looked the same. Embarrassed, she looked towards to pitch. The cheerleaders were about to start their routine, but she couldn’t locate the dread-locked girl. The girls moved into a line and began a peppy cheer, Delphine wasn’t listening, she was focused on finding Cosima. Three cheers had passed by the time she saw her. Almost out of nowhere, four girls pulled Cosima out from a huddle and lifted her into the air. The dread-locked girl was stood on their hands with her left leg bent and her fists raised. The group chanted about how the ‘Sharks’ were going to ‘tear up’ the ‘prey’. It was so cheesy, Delphine wanted to scoff, but the pride, concentration and pure joy that radiated from Cosima’s face was infectious. At the end of the cheer, she found herself whooping and hollering as Cosima pushed off of the girl’s hands and fell into their cradling arms. Beth started laughing and through her left-over bit of pretzel at the blonde girl, who pulled it out of her girls and ate it.

“Sit down you fucking dork!” Beth tugged on Delphine’s hand and the tall girl fell into her lap, . Their eyes met as Delphine’s arms draped around her girlfriends shoulders. She tucked a loose curl behind Delphine’s ear and gulped loudly. This was the first time that they had shared an intimate moment that wasn’t forced, or planned, or part of a scheme. It excited them, but scared them at the same time. As much as she hated to admit it, Delphine was fighting off every urge in her body. She wanted to lean in and kiss Beth, but she wasn’t sure if that was what Beth wanted. Sure, she could pass it off as ‘I thought they were watching’ but the brunette wasn’t stupid. She’d know full well what Delphine was thinking, because as Felix said, she did everything 100%. She knew that leaning in and tasting Beth’s lips in a whole new light could ruin everything, could ruin her and Cosima, but she did it anyway. The slight part of Beth’s lips and the intense-yet-vulnerable look in her eyes was too much for her to even begin to fight.

Delphine gripped the back of Beth’s neck and pulled her forward, their lips hitting at an intensity she’d never felt before. She was hungry. Nipping at Beth’s lips and running her hands up from her neck and into her hair. The brunette reciprocated, panting and moaning lightly into Delphine’s mouth. Her tongue pushed against Delphine’s and searched her mouth, drawing words and tasting the salt from the pretzel. She ran her hands up and down the fabric of the blonde’s coat before slipping her arms underneath and continuing her search over the top of Delphine’s shirt. Beth paused for a second at the bottom of Delphine’s shirt, before taking encouragement from Delphine’s light tug on her hair and running her fingers across her bare skin. The touch made them both jump, the jolt of excitement and electricity hitting them at the same time. Beth pulled away and looked across Delphine’s face, looking for the signs that she didn’t want this, or that this was some sort of game for Cosima, or that she may even be thinking of Cosima, but the French girl’s eyes were too dark, too vulnerable and open to be hiding anything. Before Beth could lean back in, an angry fan barked at them, “Could you two just get a fucking room please?”

Delphine giggled at the preposterous situation, and Beth joined in. Their foreheads hit against each others, before Beth wrapped her arm around Delphine’s back who leaned her head on Beth’s shoulder. For the remainder of the game, neither mentioned what had happened or how it had lit a fire both were desperate to put out.

In the end, the Sharks won by two points. As the couple stood up to walk away, Delphine’s phone started to ring. It was Cosima. She apologized to Beth and answered her phone.

“Cosima, bonjour” She tried to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“Hey, um, I have something of yours here I um, I think you left it in Biology?”

“Oh, what is it?” Delphine couldn’t remember leaving anything behind.

“It’s the homework from last lesson, I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.” She could hear the smile in Cosima’s voice.

“No,of course.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Um, do you want me to come and-”

“Yes.” Cosima interrupted. “Yeah, I mean, if you want.”

Delphine looked up at Beth. “It is just that, Beth is giving me a lift home and I wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.” The brunette smiled.

“Oh yeah, totally understand.” She paused. “I could always, give you a ride home though? If that’s okay with the both of you?”

Delphine smiled at the thought of Cosima dropping her off at her house. Beth must have heard Cosima, as when Delphine looked to her she gave a quick thumbs up before blowing a kiss and making her way up to the car park.

“Yes. That’s fine. I will come to you now.”

“Awesome.”

_

She hopped down the steps that lead to the girls changing rooms. She knocked politely before entering, giving the girls enough time to cover themselves, but as she walked through she found it empty. Only the noise of the shower filling the silence.

“Allo?” Her voice echoed around the empty room, bouncing off the walls and through to the showers. She heard the water switch off and the scrape of metal links on the shower rod. Delphine had almost begun to turn around when she saw Cosima emerge from the slight mist the water had created. Her dreads were out of their bun and fell naturally down her back and over her shoulders. A streams of water ran down them, causing droplets to fall from the ends and onto the floor. The petite girl hadn’t seen Delphine stood there, and began to unwrap the towel from her torso.

“Wait, Cosima!” She called out. The other girl jumped and dropped her towel. Delphine turned as quick as she could, but she still caught a full glimpse of Cosima’s naked body.

“WHAT THE FUCK?”  
“I am, so sorry I-” She stuttered as her hands covered her eyes and she turned her back to the girl. “I thought you heard me come in!”

“NO! I- Did you see?”

Delphine was silent, unsure of how to carry on. She could lie, and put Cosima at ease, telling her that she saw nothing, but she also didn’t want to be any more untrustworthy than she already was.

“Not really, no.” It was half true. She had only seen the back half.

“Okay. Well you can look again now. I’m decent”

She turned around and lowered her hands from her eyes. Cosima had changed into a baggy, grey shirt with the Sheldon High logo printed on in red and pair of running shorts. Delphine was certain that this girl could look good in a bin bag. It was the simplest outfit known to man, but she still demanded the blonde girls full attention. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could be with her. Delphine’s mind and body was still reeling from her kiss with Beth and having Cosima stood in front of her, her hair still wet and skin still slightly glistening, was pushing her over the edge.

“Um, do you have the work?” Delphine needed to break the silence, and also to hurry Cosima out of there.

“Yeah, it’s in my bag. Let me just pack all my things away and then we can be off.” She padded over to her locker and pulled out a large gym bag. She threw in her cheer-leading costume, her towels and pulled out a folded up piece of paper, which she then handed over to Delphine. “It’s quite important. That’s why I needed to get it to you” She chuckled nervously.

“Thank you, Cosima”

“No probs.” Her hands were back up and waving. She motioned towards the door. “After you, mademoiselle” It sounded as if she had been practising her French accent, but the adorable American twinge still remained. Delphine walked to the door with Cosima hot on her trail. The brunette lead the way to her car, the pair walking in silence. Delphine hadn’t noticed how long it had taken her to get to the changing rooms, or how long they’d stayed in there, but what she had noticed was how empty the parking lot was. There were only two cars, Cosima’s and another, surrounded by boys in plaid shirts and beanies smoking. The petite girl opened up the passenger side door and made a swooping gesture. Delphine laughed. Cosima was a huge dork, just like her. She slipped in and waited for the brunette to slink around to the other side of the car. Delphine took this advantage and watched Cosima strut to the trunk of her car and drop her bag in. She must do it on purpose. She must know what she is doing, what her confident walk and swaying hips does to people.

The drive back to Delphine’s house was quiet, but content. Neither had much to say, and whenever Delphine tried to break the silence, Cosima responded quickly and enthusiastically, but also as if she were holding something back. It worried the French girl to think that Cosima did not trust her with some information, or that she did not feel comfortable enough around her to share her worries. When Cosima stopped the car in front of Delphine’s dark house, my mother must be asleep, she thought to herself, Delphine looked down at her palms nervously before turning to face the other girl.

“Is there something wrong?”

“What? No.” Cosima tried her best to act nonchalant, but Delphine could see through it.

“There is. I can see it.” She sighed. “You can trust me Cosima.”

“I know. I do trust you Delphine.” Cosima smiled honestly. “This is just…I just…” The brunette sighed and shook her head. “Do you realise, that I could have just given you the work tomorrow?”

Delphine was confused. “Yes, but I don’t see what thi-”

“You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what Cosima?”

Cosima stared out of her window. She lifted her hand to her mouth and bit the side of her index finger. “I-” She sighed again, shakily and turned around to face Delphine. “It really isn’t my place Delphine, I know. Just…” She shut her eyes and breathed in heavily before opening them again. “Just tell me to stop.” Cosima leaned forward, moving her left hand to the back of Delphine’s neck and meeting her lips softly, delicately. Delphine watched her intently as she leaned in. Her eyes still open when their lips met. It was more gentle than she’d imagined it being. Whenever she thought about kissing Cosima, she had thought about becoming overcome with desire and longing, but this…this was sweet. This kiss was tender, and loving. It was perfect. She kissed her back gently, moving her own hand across Cosima’s waist and resting on her back.  
Cosima broke the kiss, reluctantly. She began to speak, but was silenced by Delphine’s lips. The blonde girl needed to taste her again. She needed to lick the cherry lip balm clean off of her and have the brunette’s hands back on her neck. Cosima didn’t fight it, quite the opposite. She brought her hands up to Delphine’s face and tilted it back to deepen the kiss. Her tongue moved into the blonde girl’s mouth and ran along the roof of her mouth. Delphine shuddered with pleasure and let a soft moan escape. Cosima undid her seatbelt and moved to sit on her knees so that she was above Delphine. The tall girl undid her own seatbelt, and obliged desperately when Cosima started to pull her into the backseat.

Delphine’s back was leaning against the door of the car and Cosima was straddling her waist. The pair managed to manoeuvre into this position without breaking their kiss. The brunette girl’s hands were just an uncontrollable on Delphine’s body as they were when she spoke. She was learning, finding the parts of the blonde girl that made her hips buck or bite her lip. She tugged Delphine’s shirt over her head as the other girl moved to do the same. Cosima undid her own bra and lowered herself down so that she was flush against the blonde. Delphine’s body coursed with electricity as Cosima’s bare skin touched her own. Those smooth hands continued to move, gripping onto her hip while Delphine captured the brunette’s lips once again. Delphine ran her own hand across the tight muscles of Cosima’s stomach and suddenly felt self-conscious about her less-impressive physique. Cosima sensed her nervousness and moved her mouth away from Delphine’s to leave a trail of kisses and bites along her body. Cosima’s mind was racing. Should she bite hard and leave a mark, let the world know that Delphine Cormier had been with her first? Or should she kiss gently, hiding any evidence of her betrayal against her girlfriend. She decided on the latter.

It was the gentleness that Cosima was showing, as well as the obvious lust that spurred her on that gave Delphine the confidence to continue. She popped the button on her jeans and tugged at Cosima’s shorts, who quickly obliged. After she removed her shorts, she slipped off Delphine’s jeans and regained her position on top of the girl. She gave Delphine a comforting look, letting her know it was still okay to turn back if she didn’t want to do this. The blonde girl replied with a thrust of her hips and a deep kiss. Cosima positioned herself comfortably between the other girls legs and started to grind down hard. Her fingers stroked down slowly, teasing, from the base of Delphine’s neck, across her breasts and stomach and found the fabric of her underwear. Her hand slipped underneath the barrier. Delphine bit her own lip hard as she felt Cosima’s fingers circle and dip. There was no turning back now, even if she wanted to.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Delphine woke feeling an odd mix of satisfaction, elation and self-loathing. For her, there was no-one better for her to lose her virginity to than the dread-locked girl that she had been crazy about for the past few months but she couldn’t shake the guilt that she felt when she thought of Beth. Her best friend’s smile repeatedly flashed into her mind as she remembered the feel of Cosima’s skin on hers. If Beth meant nothing to her, in anything more than a platonic way, then why was Delphine worried to get out of bed and face both her friend and Cosima?

Delphine contemplated feigning illness and avoiding the whole situation all together. How had she got herself into such a mess? It killed her to tell Beth the truth. The truth that being with Cosima had made her feel invincible, like for those moments in the backseat of Cosima’s car they were to only two people in the world; at least the only two that mattered. Whereas her kiss with Beth had lit a fire inside of her, she knew that being with Cosima was more than heat - more than passion. I can’t just avoid this. She was right. She couldn’t.

-

The french girl hauled herself from her bed and looked at herself in her full-length mirror. Her skin had taken on a post-virginal glow that she was sure everyone would notice. It made her smile. Delphine was no longer scared of her sexuality, no longer scared that people would see her longing for Cosima. Now, she hoped that Cosima would take her in her arms and… No! she screamed in her head, not before I sort this shit out with Beth….shit.  
Delphine practically skipped into homeroom with a smile so luminescent it put Time Square to shame, but smile was practically dull glow compared to the way her eyes lit up when she saw Cosima leaning back in her chair. The brunette girl looked towards the door as Delphine walked in and her her own radiant grin, with her tongue poking ever so slightly between her teeth. Cosima raised her hand in a slight wave which Delphine reciprocated slightly more frantically, never one to be able to keep her cool around the dreadlocked girl. Delphine sighed as she sat down and ran her hands over her face and through her hair in frustration at herself. She crossed her arms across her desk and placed her head on top of them; face down. Familiar fingers slipped into her curls and tucked one behind her ear.

‘Hey.’ The soft, flirty voice whispered.

Delphine took her head from her arms and re-arranged herself to balance on her elbow. This position gave her full view of Cosima standing there; her baggy shirt stopped just short of her jeans and allowed Delphine a peak at the brunettes abs. She wanted nothing more than to run her fingertips across the peaks and valleys of Cosima’s muscles.

‘So,’ Cosima continued, ‘I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight?’ The almost sing-song quality to Cosima’s voice made it hard to resist, as did the feel of her fingers gliding through her hair. The brunettes touch had a way of calming Delphine, one so normally nervous and self-conscious. Cosima’s fingers were like erasers, obliterating everyone and everything around them, withdrawing the pair of them into their own world.  
‘Hmmm, I think I would like that.’ Delphine purred in response.

‘Good.’ Cosima breathed back, lowering her head towards the blonde girl. Delphine’s head moved towards Cosima’s, but a firm cough from the doorway brought her back to earth. It was Felix. The black-haired boy stood in the doorway, arms folded and eyebrow raised in suspicion as well as omniscience. The pair separated and Cosima went back to her seat. Felix leaned down to Delphine as he walked past and whispered, ‘You need to find Beth. Now’.

-  
Delphine found Beth on the bleachers, staring off at the field whilst the soft breeze blew through her long hair. She didn’t look up as Delphine perched down beside her. The French girl began to talk but Beth cut her off before she could muster a word.

‘Del, I have to tell you something.’ Beth looked from the pitch and into her hands. Her fingers lacing and unlacing from each other. ‘It’s not easy to tell you this, believe me.’ She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she turned towards the blonde beauty sat beside her. ‘Look, we’ve been getting close these past weeks and, you can’t look me in the eyes and tell me that our kiss last night didn’t mean anything to you. It was too…perfect…to be platonic.’

Shit. This is the moment that Delphine had dreaded since she woke up this morning. She knew that their kiss had meant something to Beth and she was worried that her best friend was developing feeling for her.  
‘Del, I need to be honest with you about the way I feel. I love Alison.’ The French girl had prepared for a different answer, and so her palms had moistened with sweat and her breathing had intensified to an unhealthy rate.

‘What?’ She questioned

‘Last night, after you went to Cosima, Alison called me and asked me to come over. We…we slept together Del. I love her and we’re going to try to make things work again. I- I’m so sorry if I lead you on but, I don’t think I did because I wasn’t lying to you. You’re hot and, I love you as a friend - a best friend…but I can’t deny myself.’

Delphine smiled as her friend avoided her gaze.

‘Beth..BETH!’ she chuckled, turning her friends head towards her own. The french girl took Beth’s hands in her own and stared into her brown eyes. ‘I…I love Cosima. Last night we-’

‘NO!’ Beth laughed, scandalously.

Delphine laughed at her friend and tried to pull her closer, but Beth jumped up, feigning hurt. ‘I was sat up all night wondering how to break this to you! I thought I was going to break your heart!’

‘Get over yourself!’ The french girl shot back.

‘Son of a-’ Beth fell back onto the bleachers. ‘Fuck. God. That’s…that’s a relief I gotta tell you.’ She paused for a second before turning to face her friend. ‘So?’

‘So what?’

‘How was she?’ Beth grinned.

Delphine scoffed at her gall. ‘Shut up.’   
-  
As Delphine knocked on Cosima’s door she wondered if she had over-dressed. The small brunette always looked laid back and easy with her fashion and Delphine had opted for a knee-length skater dress and heels. Although she had already tasted Cosima’s affection for her, she longed for more and knew Cosima could - would - give it to her. The door swung open and there stood a masterpiece. Cosima was wearing a bodycon dress awash with beautiful, watercolour strokes of pink, blue and yellow. Delphine was comforted in seeing that the other girl had made such an effort to impress, it made the girl, who had been built up in Delphine’s mind to be a divine-being, seem vulnerable; it made her seem human.

‘Come in,’ Cosima ushered, nervously. ‘Mom left a bottle of wine for us. They’re out tonight at some dinner or gala’ Her hands threw up into the air as she paced from the door to the couch. Delphine sat, her back straighter than Alison Hendrix’s, and placed her hands in her lap.

‘Relax.’ Cosima giggled as she settled into the couch. ‘You’re putting me on edge.’

Delphine leaned back into the couch and the brunette shimmied her way down to her.

‘Wine?’ Cosima offered. ‘It’s French.’

Delphine smirked at the attempts to relate to her. ‘Sure.’ Cosima poured Delphine a large glass of Merlot and then sat back with her own.

‘So, tell me about yourself.’

The french girl hesitated slightly. ‘What-what do you want to know?’  
‘Tell me your story.’

‘My story? I, I moved here from Paris in the summer, with my mother. Almost fluent in English from my studying back home. Hoping to study immunology in college.’ She paused and glanced around the room, aware that she had been talking very quickly.

‘Um,’ Cosima coughed ‘If you don’t mind me asking, why only your mom?’  
Delphine knew this question would follow. ‘He died.’ She looked down at her necklace and began to twist it around her fingers.

‘I’m so sorry’

‘No. Don’t be sorry, Cosima. You couldn’t have known. It was earlier this year, that’s why we moved. Maman wanted a fresh start in a new place.’

‘I understand.’ A silence fell upon them. ‘I’ll tell you my story. West-coast born and raised. Parents both scientists as you know. Realised I was gay at age 13 when I kissed my - then - best friend Tara. Um, hoping to study evolutionary development in Minnesota next year…and I think thats about it.’

Delphine smiled. ‘Minnesota? We were looking at that university a few months ago. It’s got a great reputation.’

‘I know right!’ Cosima beamed. She sighed happily and fell back to rest her head on her arm that was draped lazily across the back of the couch. ‘You’re stunning, you know that?’

‘Thank you,’ the other girl blushed and tried to cover her face with her free hand, but Cosima took her wrist and lowered it. She set her wine down on the table and Delphine reciprocated, still being held by the brunette girl.

‘I hope you don’t think i’m being too forward but…’ Cosima leaned in towards Delphine, slipping a hand across Delphines shoulder and around to the base of her neck. ‘…if you don’t want to do this just tell me.’ Cosima came closer and closer to the French girls lips before the tension became too unbearable and Delphine closed the distance between them with a passionate ferocity.

It felt just like that moment in Cosima’s car, but the gentle tentativeness that lingered yesterday had vanished. It was replaced with sheer passion and longing, as if eachothers kisses were an oasis in the desert. Delphine’s hands came to meet Cosima’s hips and grabbed tight, pulling the smaller girl on top of her. From there, one hand moved to grab her ass as she straddled Delphine’s thighs and the other ran gentle fingertips along Cosima’s back and up to her neck. The sensation make Cosima squirm and the wetness between her legs became almost unbearable. Cosima pulled back from Delphine’s mouth and stared deeply into the french girls eyes, an unspoken task for consent. Delphine nodded and moaned as Cosima slipped her hands beneath the hem of her dress and lifted it over her head.

‘Wait.’ Delphine called out as Cosima went in to kiss her neck.

‘What? Is this okay?’ Cosima asked frantically, worried that her forwardness had scared her lover.

‘Yes, everything is…perfect. It’s just…’ Delphine motioned towards the door.

‘Ah, parents.’ Cosima had completely forgot that they had been in the living room this entire time and thus needed to take this into her room. ‘Follow me, ma cherie’ She giggled flirtatiously and took Delphine’s hand to lead her upstairs.

They ran into the room and Cosima pushed Delphine down on to the bed, again checking that her passion was alright for the blonde. As Cosima prowled towards Delphine, she stopped and sat upright next to the sprawled girl.

‘Hey,’ She hushed ‘I just want to reassure you that this -’ Cosima motioned between the two, meant to stand for their sexual relationship ‘- isn’t just what I want. I don’t just want this part, ya know? I want you. I…I want you to be my girlfriend.’

Delphine beamed back at Cosima as the brunette started to blush and avoid the blonde’s eyes. She nodded excitedly, sitting up to wrap her arms around her girlfriend.

‘I want that too.’ She replied. ‘I want you to be my girlfriend.’

Cosima smiled, ‘Good. Good.’ She pulled her girlfriend close and kissed her softly. ‘How did Beth take the news?’

Delphines smile fell from her lips. ‘Um, well, the thing is Cosima…’

Cosima pulled back, ‘You have told her haven’t you?’ she asked worryingly.

‘Yes! Yes! Of course I told her this morning it’s just…we were…never a couple, really.’

‘But you were inseparable, you were like…attached at the tongue!’ She joked.

‘Hmmm, but never official. She took it well, she, she loves another’  
‘Hendrix?’

‘Oui’

Cosima seemed to smirk as if to say ‘I knew they still had something going’ but never vocalised it.

‘Well, that seemed to work out well for me didn’t it?’ Cosima breathed, leaning in once more to taste her girlfriend’s tongue against hers.  
‘It did, ma cherie, it did.’ Delphine placed her lips against Cosima’s, lulling her into a false sense of security before spinning her over and pinning her to her own bed. ‘And it’s about to get even better for you.’ Delphine pulled Cosima’s dress over her head and began to leave a trail of kisses down Cosima’s torso, biting occasionally - strategically - to prise a whimper and moan from Cosima’s lips. The sound of the brunette’s moans pierced the autumn night and sent Delphine crazy.

And there they lay, almost mid-night on their first night as girlfriends, talking about their past and sharing the innermost secrets of their young lives. And it was bliss.

**Author's Note:**

> This will either be in 3 or 4 parts. I haven't decided yet.  
> Tumblr: spionkopite (General)  
>  CophineFics (Fanfiction)


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